That Reunion On The Merry Month Of May Poem by RIC BASTASA

on a shorter notice we had the reunion set on the merry month of May,
candid,
a spot for the day, we gather the faces again
of youth,
high school scents spreading in the halls of this
room,
agging is late again
(her breast sags, though
she has not been married)
catalina lost some of her
teeth
(she is contemplating of
suicide, had an attempt
but survived it)
ernie, still looks good
with his marine blue polo shirt
(though not well ironed
he split with wife, now in the US
starts anew with his second
wife and a math whiz kid
for inspiration)
fredelita, bony cheeks
emaciated, depressed
(had a baby with this
parish priest)
sir berto, haggardly
high blood pressure
wants to deliver his speech
to an audience of six
mrs. ratilla, still smart and
quick, sits silently and
her eyes are roving
like she is the famous
thinker, i understand,

i got the money to spend
and they order what they
want to eat, i am this
writer, the standard-bearer,
the entertainer, i love
to sing again the songs
of high school to recite
again the poems i once
wote i once read while
they open their mouths
looking for meanings

the rest did not come
perhaps some of them
have died, perhaps some
of them want to die,
perhaps some of them
pretended to be dead,

whatever, it was that
month of May 2007
and i like to think
we were all drunk
and merry,

the high school memories
how can we bury them?

without dying ourselves

i was looking for her
she was not there anymore.